Rogue Terrain
by hyen665
Summary: Sequel to AROTR. The X-Men have been split up and dumped around the world by PURE - an anti-mutant organisation. A chip has been placed in their brains blocking their powers. Will they die where they've been dumped or regain their powers and destroy PURE?
1. Chapter 1

"How's she doin'?" Rogue asked, softly, gazing upon the injured Storm.

"Better than I thought she'd be doin'." Wolverine replied, gruffly, his eyes half-opened and fixed on Storm with gentleness and concern. "She took one hell of a hit. Surprised she's not ... worse off."

"Mah god, how the heck could someone do this?" Rogue growled, kicking the wall of the cave they'd found refuge inside of.

"Good job ya don't have ya powers, else ya would've killed us." Wolverine barked.

"Ah just regained mah powers six months ago after the threat o' dying after three days. Now Ah don't have mah powers and Ah got the risk of freezing to death – that is, if Ah don't die o' starvation, first." Rogue seethed. "Ah guess Ah should be glad Ah don't have mah powers and Ah can still live."

"Shame ya livin' in such a hell hole as this, right now, though, huh?" Wolverine smiled, poisonously, spitting out a spiteful laugh.

"Well, I liked my powers." Jubilee retorted, shortly.

"Who doesn't like the idea o' shootin' fireworks outta their fingers?" Rogue replied, wrapping her arms around the shivering seventeen year old, rubbing her to keep her warm. "God knows we could do with some fireworks righ' now – keep us nice an' warm, huh?"

"Well we don't have any fireworks, or any fire, so ya gonna have to make do." Wolverine snapped, his gaze permanently attached on Storm.

"Hmmm," Rogue mused with a soft, throaty giggle. "If only Gambit was here. We could steal his lighter – his stinkin' habit would be put to good use, then."

"Yeah, we could use his body as firewood, too, after I've finished with him. That big head of his could burn for days." Wolverine smiled, shutting his eyes to imagine his horrible fantasy.

"Oh, shut up." Rogue scolded. "He's not that bad once ya getta know him."

"Trust you to say that." Wolverine replied, though not unkindly. "Ya deserve better than him." He added, giving her a meaningful look.

"Ya don't know how much you lookin' out for me means to me, Logan," Rogue said, gently, "but if Ah'm in love with a Cajun thief rather than a charmin' Prince, Ah don't care about anythin' else."

"Not even a charmin' Prince is good enough for you, darlin'." Wolverine retorted.

"You know, since we might die here, why don't you share why you're so protective of Rogue." Jubilee piped up, gazing over Rogue's arms at Wolverine, who was still tending to the unconscious Storm. "Do you ... like ... love her?"

Wolverine glared at Jubilee for a while, before turning back to Storm and tucking a blanket tighter to her.

"Rogue saved my wife from dying, a long time ago, back when she was still ... on the wrong path." Wolverine admitted, quietly. "For that, I'm forever grateful."

"But she died! Itsu still died, damn it." Rogue spat, angrily – she'd still not forgotten nor forgiven the fact that saving Wolverine's wife's life the first time had been in vain.

"Ya still put ya life on the line just to save her. How could ya have known she was gonna get killed, anyway?" Wolverine soothed, memories flooding into his mind and bringing a knot to his throat.

Wolverine coughed, clearing the knot away. Jubilee stayed quiet, not realising that Wolverine had even been married. In her opinion, Wolverine was the quiet, loner type who especially didn't fall in love.

"Ya saved mah life, though ... after she died ..." Rogue whispered. "We're even."

"Ya don't know how much Itsu meant to me ... we'll never be even after ya saved her life ... I'll always be in ya debt." Wolverine explained.

Suddenly, Storm stirred and began coughing. Wolverine, quickly, put his arm under Storm's neck and raised her up, gently, into a sitting position. Storm rubbed her eyes with her hands, trying to remember what had happened. She was suddenly whacked by the coldness. She drew the blankets closer to her, as Rogue and Jubilee rushed to her side. Storm suddenly felt dizzy and dropped into Wolverine, who wrapped his arm around her and held her against him. Her head on his shoulder, Storm began to realise where she was.

"Have I been out for long?" Storm questioned, wearily.

"Ya've been out for a couple of days." Wolverine replied, gently, rubbing Storm to keep her warm. "Here, lie back down. I'll go and get some food."

"Where are you going to find food in this place?" Storm asked as Wolverine helped her lie down again.

Storm rested her head on Rogue's lap, allowing Jubilee to use the other blanket to wrap around herself. Jubilee cuddled up to the two women, the three managing to keep warm.

"He's been huntin' since we got here – Wolverine, the wild man of the Antarctic – doesn't get cold and can hunt even in blizzards. As long as ya don't mind polar bear, ya good for the while we're stayin' here." Rogue grinned.

"Yeah, he's even making us blankets and stuff out of the bear's fur! I feel really bad though – I mean, I feel guilty for eating them and watching Wolverine skin them." Jubilee sighed.

"Become a vegetarian or an animal rights activist when we get home, then, Jubes. Anyway, I didn't hear one peep of complaint outta ya when ya were eatin' the damn thing." Rogue teased, poking Jubilee's cheek.

"Shut up!" Jubilee protested. "I was hungry! I'm just saying that I feel guilty now, you know?"

Wolverine gazed on the scene before him. His imagination immediately twisted the scene in his mind. The scene reminded him of a normal life – he was the father going out to work, his daughters sat teasing each other whilst his wife tended to them. He shook the image from his mind – his daughters turned back into Rogue and Jubilee, his wife turned back into the sick Storm.

With a growl, Wolverine turned his back on the women. He was going to protect and look after them no matter the cost. As soon as Storm was better, they'd find their way off of the Antarctic and into civilisation, before returning back to the Institute. As soon as Storm could use her powers again, they'd find the rest of the X-Men and then Xavier.

PURE – meaning 'Purging Ultra Races from Existence – were vicious mutant haters. Months ago, PURE had kidnapped Havok, Jubilee, Spyke, Iceman, Sunfire and Shadowcat. Whilst attempting to rescue the six teenage X-Men, Rogue, Cyclops and Xavier had been taken. Beast, Colossus, Jean, Wolverine, Storm, Gambit and Nightcrawler were forced to evacuate. When they returned, a few months later, the remaining X-Men had managed to leave PURE headquarters with information on where their kidnapped team mates had been dumped a month previously to their third attempt at rescuing them.

Havok, Jubilee, Spyke, Iceman, Sunfire, Shadowcat, Cyclops and Rogue had been dumped in different places - Jubilee and Rogue on the Antarctic, Cyclops, Havok and Sunfire were dumped on a tiny, abandoned island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, whislt Shadowcat, Spyke and Iceman had been dumped in the Sahara desert.

PURE had inserted chips inside their brains, blocking the X-Gene from working. Xavier had been the only mutant that the chip wouldn't work on. No one knew what had happened to Xavier. The remaining X-men had split into teams to track down their powerless mutant comrades and try to figure out how to get the chips out.

Wolverine sniffed the air and spotted his prey. After deciding the right moment, Wolverine leapt onto the polar bear, and, with a swift slice of his claws, the polar bear was dead, painlessly and quickly. Wolverine dragged the polar bear back to the cave, skinning in and chopping it up into chunks.

Wolverine was furious at himself for allowing this all to happen. He'd make it right, he'd Storm, Jubilee and Rogue. He'd help find the others and he'd help find a way of getting the chips out of their brains – even if it meant calling upon the assistance of Dr. Adler – whom he'd not had the chance to show a piece of his mind, after Adler had helped Mister Sinister take Rogue's powers. He'd then find Charles Xavier – the man who'd saved him from a life not worth living – before destroying PURE and killing everyone to do with the organisation. His loathing against PURE was rich and powerful, even though, before the kidnapping of the younger mutants, he'd never heard of it. He didn't care how long he'd hated the organisation, he was going to destroy it.

Inside the cave, Jubilee tended to Storm. Rogue left and wandered around the outside of the cave, watching Wolverine drag the polar bear body towards the cave, before halting a few feet away and slicing it up into skin and chunks of food.

Rogue wondered where Gambit was, how he was doing, if he'd found the others. She'd given herself to him completely and fully, only half a year previously. It had already been six months since she'd regained her powers – managing to spend two whole days with the love of her life, being able to do all of the things she'd wanted to do – managing to be a proper couple with him. She was now on the other side of the world, away from him, powerless again. But this time, she wasn't going to die after three days.

Rogue sighed.

Was this a blessing in disguise? All she knew what that all the insecurities she'd had previously, all the different thoughts, all the different points of view – whether she should keep her powers or not – kept passing through her mind. Was this a second chance at being able to be normal and hold onto Gambit? It had been a terribly hard transition at being able to hold him and kiss him and more, to being able to not even touch his hand, again. She missed his touch so much and wondered whether living without his touch and not knowing it was better than living without his touch having had it.

"Who the hell is pulling the strings to this puppet show?" Rogue spat, staring into the heavens above her – clouds filled with fresh snow.

She sighed, again, and strode over to Wolverine, helping him bring some of the polar bear meat to the cave.


	2. Chapter 2

"Storm, are you okay?" Jubilee asked, worriedly, helping Storm stand up after she struggled to rise.

"I'm fine, child. Not my best, but I'll still manage to walk. We've been in this cave for far too long – we must find a way off of Antarctica without being shot down." Storm replied.

"Who woulda guessed that Antarctica was surrounded by missile launchers aimed at mutants, huh?" Rogue commented, wrapping an arm around Storm. "Are ya sure ya can move? Ah mean, we could stay here for a bit longer, 'til ya recuperate and get ya powers back."

"I'm tired of this place." Storm said, sadly. "I just want to go home – back to the Institute."

"But ya have no powers, and Ah can't fly no more. How're we gonna get off this stinkin' place?" Rogue questioned.

"We'll find our way out by the nearest ship." Wolverine piped in, after spending the best part of two days stuck around the com-systems, which had been broken after Storm was shot down, making Wolverine and her landing onto the Antarctic a painful landing.

Storm had flown Wolverine and herself to the Antarctic, after the X-Men had, for the third time, stormed into PURE headquarters. The kidnapped X-Men, however, had been dumped into three different locations, far from any civilisation, left to die, painfully. Gambit had initially wanted to go to the Antarctic and find Rogue, put Wolverine had put a stop to it. Storm, Rogue's closest friend, was going to find the girls and Wolverine was going to help her – he would save Jubilee, who he, secretly, held a soft spot for. Jubilee was like his daughter and he, her father figure, was going to save her. Wolverine loved Rogue, his over-protectiveness of her being obvious to them all. If Gambit was going to save Rogue, the couple's messy relationship status would get in the way. After spending a night with Gambit in Paris, touching him and loving him, Rogue's powers had been returned. After she was unable to touch, again, Rogue had grown distant from Gambit, though no one knew quite why. Wolverine refused to be in a team with Gambit – thinking that something had gone wrong in Paris, that Gambit had hurt her – under the belief that if Wolverine was stuck in the Antarctic with Gambit, Wolverine would kill the Cajun.

"How're we going to find a ship, like, we're in the middle of nowhere." Jubilee questioned, miserably.

"Exploring ships find their way here. If I can just use the com-systems to tune in with a ship radio, we should be able to get home." Wolverine explained, the three women staring at him in awe.

"When did you become mister technology, sugah?" Rogue asked, a smile on her face.

Wolverine couldn't help but smile back.

"Back in the day, in Japan, before and after I married Itsu, I worked on a trawler. Sorting out the radios was just one of the things I looked after – I fished on my own. If the seas got choppy and I was stuck on my own on it, how else was I gonna get in contact with rescue?" Wolverine smiled, knowingly.

"Did you ever have to use the radio?" Jubilee asked, interestedly.

"One time I was on the sea – I'd got a great catch. Normally I would've just dived off the trawler and swam to safety, but this catch – it was gonna feed Itsu, her family and I for a month, it was my biggest catch yet. The radio was busted and I'd never needed to use it before. I learnt, in ten minutes, how to fix the radio and get in contact with other boats." Wolverine howled at laugh, his eyes misted by memories.

"How come it's takin' ya so long to fix a com-system, then, if it took ya ten minutes to fix a radio?" Rogue teased, pulling Wolverine away from the sorrow of Itsu's death – a memory he was inches away from remembering and regretting.

"You ever done this, Mississippi?" Wolverine snorted. "Fixing a radio in choppy seas, where the waves are fifty feet above your head, is a lot easier than these tiny damn com-systems our good friend Charles equips us with. I gotta turn these damn things into mini-radios so I can get in contact with the outside world! You know how to do it, come and show me!"

Suddenly a rasping, buzzing noise was emitted from one of the tiny devices in Wolverine's hands. He looked down and moved the com-system a bit hire. Soon enough a voice could be heard, coming from the com-system.

"Hello! Can anyone here me? I need to know if a ship is on its way to Antarctica. Over." Wolverine growled into the com-system.

"Roger. Ya need an explorer vessel or fishing? Over." The voice replied.

"I don't give a damn, as long as one's coming this way." Wolverine replied. "I'm stranded here, with three women, one's been badly injured. I need a ship to arrive as soon as possible. Over."

"Whereabouts are you? Antarctica's a big place. Over."

"We're at the point south of Argentina's tip. Over." Wolverine explained.

"Today's your lucky day, there's an explorer ship leaving there in two days. I'll warn them that you're heading there. You've got two days to reach the point – you won't be able to miss 'em. They've got equipment there so they can sort out your injured parter. Over."

"Thanks! We'll be there soon. Over and out." Wolverine grinned down the com-system, switching it off. "Anyone up for a stroll?"

"Ah don't think Ah've ever heard ya say 'stroll' in all the time's Ah've known ya, Logan." Rogue said, slowly, her jaw dropped.

"I don't think I ever wanna hear him say it again." Jubilee replied.

"Argh!" Storm wailed, collapsing on to the floor.

"Ororo!" Wolverine yelped, diving to her. "Ya've been on ya feet too long, gal. Come on, I'll carry you to the point."

"You can't – we'll be walking for two days. I'll be fine." Storm replied brokenly, as she get wincing from the pain.

"Hush ya bellyaching, Storm, Logan's gonna carry ya so ya gotta deal with it. As soon as we get to the ship ya can disagree with whatever ya like. For now, though, we gotta go." Rogue scolded, gently, collecting the two backpacks Wolverine and Storm had brought with them, handing one to Jubilee and put the other one on.

Jubilee quickly wrapped a blanket around Storm after Wolverine had taken her up into his arms.

"We'll be eatin' fish and bears for two more days, then we'll be onto real food!" Rogue grinned. "Ah don' think Ah can look at another fish dish again."

"Don't tell Gambit that." Jubilee giggled.

Wolverine threw a quick glance to Rogue. She'd smiled at Jubilee, but her eyes weren't filled with light. He growled, his hatred towards Gambit even more vicious than before.

"You two comin', or what?" Wolverine spat, ending Rogue's reminiscing of Gambit, quickly.

They left the cave they'd been sheltering in for a month and a half, stepping, timidly, into the coldness outside. Wolverine sniffed the air.

"A blizzard's coming. Move fast. We gotta find a place to stay before nightfall, otherwise that ship's leavin' without us." Wolverine explained.

"Ah don' know about anyone else, but Ah'm not good with the idea of becoming a mutant Popsicle. Let's go." Rogue said, grabbing Jubilee's hand and pulling her forward, to catch up with everyone.


	3. Chapter 3

The four struggled through the snow, Wolverine stopping every now and again to sniff the air. After he'd taken a sizeable whiff, he'd mutter something about the blizzard coming closer and how they'd have to find shelter. Sadly, though, the blizzard came sooner than he had expected. Though they were on the edge of the point of Antarctica, they were still desperately too far away from the point where the explorer ship would be rescuing them from. They had left the cave behind them twelve hours ago, and the snow just seemed to get thicker. Wolverine recommended that they walked further inland – the ice getting hidden by the falling snow, thus making it easier for one of them to slip into the ice-cold water.

A few hours beforehand, Jubilee had been traipsing alongside the water, staring into its icy, clear depths, watching a few fish, every now and again, whirling through the water. She had been amazed to watch the walruses diving into the water, staying there for a few moments, and returning to the land with fish hanging from their mouths. She'd underestimated the sturdiness of the ground she walked upon. It cracked and sent her flying into the water with a great splash.

Wolverine had dropped Storm as gently as he could and dived in after the teenage girl. Within minutes he had saved her, plopping her onto the snow with a thud.

"Watch where you're goin', kid!" Wolverine scolded as Rogue wrapped a blanket around the shivering Jubilee. "Ya could've died!"

"She's out now, though." Rogue said, attempting to halt Wolverine's reproach.

Wolverine growled.

"Come on, we're walkin' in land. That way no one's slippin' into the damn water." Wolverine snapped, before adding an empty threat: "Next person who _does_ slip in there is stayin' there!"

Jubilee, Rogue and Wolverine who was still carrying Storm, continued to trudge through the thickening snow, more snowflakes raging at them in massive flurries. Rogue and Wolverine squinted through the snow. Wolverine had covered Storm's face with the blanket, shielding her, whilst Jubilee had pulled her sunglasses down from the top of her head and was happily gazing through them, occasionally wiping the lenses of water from the melted snow.

Night had fallen, finally, but they had not managed to find another cave to shelter in. A large lump of snow that had frozen into ice, however, was viewed by Logan as a good enough igloo they could stay in overnight. He gave settled Storm onto the floor, Rogue and Jubilee cuddling up to her, keeping all three of themselves warm thanks to body heat as they watched Wolverine dice and slice at the ice mound.

Soon enough, after buckets of shards of ice had sprayed the women, Wolverine, proudly, stood back and admired his work, his damp claws retracting into his knuckles.

"Ah sure am glad _you_ came to save us," Rogue said sincerely. "If anyone else did, we'd either keep walkin' or sleep out here and prob'bly freeze to death."

Wolverine beamed a wolf-like grin at the compliment Rogue had paid him, watching Jubilee and Rogue dip into the igloo. Storm had risen and limped to the entrance of the cave, stopping by Wolverine's side as the girls, obliviously, set up the blankets into beds.

"Thank you, Logan." Storm said, quietly, her gaze was intense and kind.

She bent and kissed Logan on the cheek before slipping into the igloo, lying down on a blanket in between Jubilee and Rogue.

"Ah don' need a watch to be able to tell ya it's late, Logan, so get ya butt in here." Rogue called.

Wolverine, snapped out of his stupor, pulled his hand from his cheek – where he'd touched his face since Storm had kissed it – and gruffly mumbled something about 'I'm comin' now!' before crouching into the igloo.

Jubilee was at the back of the igloo, keeping an eye on Storm. There was a large gap in the centre, a walking area. Two, thick sleeping bags were on either side of the door, indicating where Rogue and Wolverine were going to sleep. Wolverine, without a word to anyone, slipped into his sleeping bag and turned his back to everyone. Rogue followed suit but lay on her back, staring at the curved ceiling of the igloo.

Soon enough the four had fallen asleep.

*

"What are you doin' out here, this early?" Wolverine questioned, nearing Rogue who was stood surveying the scene before them. "It's only five."

"Ah knew how ya wanted everyone up early, so Ah got up early. Ah was gonna wake you guys in a couple of hours." Rogue replied, glancing at Wolverine when he stood by her side.

"It's gettin' colder. We'd better pick up the pace or the ship'll leave without us." Wolverine noted after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah," Rogue sighed, distantly, continuing to stare at the mass of ocean before them.

Polar bears were waking up and leaping into the water for an early morning swim. Polar bear cubs followed in playful bounds, toying with each other before chasing each other in the ocean. Rogue noticed these things but didn't see them – her mind was too busy elsewhere.

"What happened between you and Gumbo?" Wolverine asked, quietly.

"Why?"

"I'm concerned is all. You're not ya usual self. Lately, before all of this happened ... you've been off with him, since Paris, and everyone can tell. After you got your powers back." Wolverine explained.

"He asked me to marry him." Rogue replied, bluntly, glancing at the astonished look on Wolverine's face. "Well ... not in so many words. When we were in Paris he told me about a dream he had ... where we had a big ol' house with a river in the backyard ... a huge backyard where our cats and dog can run about in ... where our kids can play in ... we'd live in Paris, away from the fights, away from the dangers ... we'd keep in contact with the X-Men but ... but it'd be a normal life. He said that we'd get married first, then we'd buy the house, have the children, have the damn pets ..."

"And then he proposed?" Wolverine asked, slowly, his forehead furrowed.

"He told me that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me ... he said that he's ready to marry me whenever Ah'm ready to settle down and marry him ..." Rogue continued.

"And what did you say?" Wolverine asked.

"Ah said ..." She began, slowly. "Ah said Ah'd think about it – maybe Ah'd marry him after Ah get control of mah powers, but ..."

"But what?" Wolverine urged.

"But that could never happen." Rogue finished, sadly. "Ah'm startin' to think that this chip in mah head is the best chance Ah got of findin' true love. Ah mean, if Ah wanna touch Gambit Ah gotta die after three days, but now ... Now Ah can touch him and Ah won't die, but ... but Ah'm part of the X-Men, if Ah have no powers, then Ah leave the X-Men. After Muir Island Ah just ... Ah got to grips with how important mah powers are, and it's even more obvious how important they are now that we're stranded on this goddamn freezer. If Ah had mah powers Ah could've flown Jubilee back to the Institute. Ah could've saved all of this hassle but ... but Ah can't coz Ah haven't got mah powers. And Ah know that even if Ah did leave the X-Men, powerless, Ah'd still get hunted down. Ah've been with the X-Men a long time ... Ah'm always gonna be threatened with god knows who or what."

"You _will_ be able to control your powers, Rogue! I promise you! Just because you can't do it now doesn't mean that in ten years you still won't be able to. Ya just gotta keep at it – keep fighting!" Wolverine explained, passionately.

"But Ah'm gettin' tried, Logan ... Tired of all this fightin'. Gambit's dream – it's mah dream, too! Ah couldn't imagine spendin' the rest of mah life with anyone but him, but ... but Ah think it's only ever gonna stay a dream, and, if that's so then ... then bein' with Gambit is just gonna make things worse. Make me want the dream even more, make me realise that it's only a fantasy. It's gonna break me down, Logan, and Ah can't have that, either! If Ah'm not a hundred percent then Ah'm just a waste of space with the X-Men!"

Wolverine grabbed Rogue frozen hand and held it in his warm hands. He stared her in the eyes, his voice low.

"You will _never_ be a waste of space!" He promised. "I will help you get to grips with your powers, but for now you gotta keep ya head down and outta the clouds and focus on doin' controllin' ya powers. Worryin' and frettin' all the time isn't gonna get ya closer to controllin' 'em. Someday you will be able to settle down in Paris or Berlin or anywhere ya damn well want with whoever the hell ya want. And I'm _always_ gonna be here to look after you when you decide to do that."

Rogue wrapped her arms around Logan, and he held her closely to him. Tears had poured down her face. Between sniffing she spoke again.

"Ah don't wanna bring a child up in this world, though, Logan. In a world that hates mutants, a world where there're cruel people like PURE tryin' to kill off mutants in the cruellest of ways. With mutant parents mah child is obviously gonna get the gene."

"And that's why we're the X-Men." Wolverine consoled. "We're gonna end this hatred once and for all."

"Do ya think it's possible?" Rogue asked amongst tears.

"I'm gonna make it possible if it's the last thing I do. For you, for Jubilee, for Storm. For everyone – including that idiot Cajun you love."


	4. Chapter 4

At seven o'clock, Rogue had gone into the igloo and woken up the drowsy Storm and Jubilee. The two newly woken girls eased themselves up, Jubilee who was still half-asleep called out for five more minutes.

"Ah would, sugah, but we got a lot of walkin' to do. If we don' find our way to the ship today or early tomorrow, we're stranded on this island eatin' raw fish until another boat comes sailin' by." Rogue explained, softly, shaking Jubilee, gently, finally stirring her from her slumber.

"You mean being stranded in an igloo in the middle of nowhere wasn't just a nightmare?" Jubilee questioned, rubbing her eyes with her fists.

"No, my child, it's all a terrible reality." Storm laughed, softly. "Now, come on. I can see Wolverine outside – he's bringing back fish for breakfast."

"Urgh! If I have to eat another fish, I think I'm gonna puke." Jubilee cried. "When we get home I'm never eating fish again!"

"Aww, come on. Sunfire promised to make authentic Japanese sushi–" Rogue began, before Jubilee interrupted.

"Urgh, I don't even wanna, like, think about eating fish. When Logan's got it ready, I'm gonna imagine it's a hamburger. I'm never touching fish, again, after we get outta here. I'm gonna eat a million hamburgers."

"Here, here!"

"I agree with that." Storm smiled. "Now, we must go outside and help Logan. He's caught all the fish so we have to eat it. It's that or it's polar bear, again."

"Yuck! That stuff was like chewing on a tire! I'm choosing the fish." Jubilee said, climbing out of her sleeping bag and leaping outside to Wolverine's side, where he was gutting fish and filleting them.

"Hey, Wolvie, how's it going?" Jubilee asked, brightly.

In his mind's eye, Jubilee took the figure of a sweet, young Chinese six year old, rather than the seventeen year old Chinese girl she was. She was his little girl. Painfully, however, she reminded him of the unborn child he had lost when Itsu was murdered.

Only five years after Itsu's death had Wolverine and Rogue met Jubilee, living in the Chinatown part of New York, living above the fishmonger's that her parents ran. As soon as Jubilee had realised her mutant abilities at the tender age of thirteen, by accidently setting on fire her home and her parents shop, on the Chinese new year, her parents had thrown her out of their home, claiming she was possessed by some kind of dark spirit which was lurking around on the eve of the new year. Distraught, and running away from the burning building, trying to hide from the people chasing her, screaming at her and blaming her for the fire, she'd ran into her saviours.

Jubilee had bumped into Rogue, who had tried to console the hysterical child, but Jubilee could not be soothed. After being surrounded by those screaming for justice, Rogue and Wolverine had had to protect Jubilee from the craze, fighting their way out without seriously injuring any of the crowd. Someone had grabbed Jubilee from behind but Wolverine had sliced and diced his way through to her, the stranger dropping Jubilee and running for their lives. Jubilee had run into Wolverine's arms, begging him for help. Wolverine held onto her and had been picked up by Rogue, before flying off to safety.

Rogue and Wolverine had been searching for Storm, who'd been captured by an underground kingpin of Chinatown's Triad, a man by the name of Zhi Wu. Wu was not a mutant, but, after finding Storm and seeing her use his powers, he instantly wanted to enslave her and use her powers for his own will. Whilst hunting down Wu's headquarters, Rogue and Wolverine had found Jubilee. Within hours after finding her, they had found Storm and rescued her, the Triad being destroyed and all the members, currently unconscious and tied up, and, thanks to Rogue, dumped outside the local police station, where they'd been trying to crack down on the Triad for years. That was the day when Jubilee first joined the X-Men. It was the first of many battles she'd fight by the sides of Wolverine, Rogue and Storm. It was the greatest day of her life, though it was overwhelmingly ruined by her being renounced by her blood family.

"Take a bite of the fish and you'll see how it's goin'." Wolverine grinned, a fanged grin bearing down on Jubilee.

Jubilee had long since got over Wolverine's daunting exterior. He would still scare her, especially when he was angry, but she'd learned to love him with all of her heart. The day Wolverine had walked into her life she'd seen him as a hero – a blessing in disguise. After her own father renounced her, Wolverine quickly entered her life and took her in. For that she was eternally grateful.

Of course she was grateful to Rogue, the first X-Man she'd ever met, who'd beaten her way through danger with a smile on her face and courage in her heart. Sadly, though, the Rogue that had rescued Jubilee, filled with quick, witty remarks in the middle of a life-threatening situation, who loved life despite her disability, the Southern Belle who was beautiful and tough, feminine but strong, the epitome of the woman Jubilee wanted so much to be, had deteriorated into an unstable, depressed wreck of a woman in love but unable to touch. Jubilee still loved Rogue, but, as Rogue and Gambit's relationship got more and more serious, Rogue changed and changed into a different person until only scrapes of the old Rogue was left – the occasional witty comment as she pounded her way through enemies to save the day. Rogue, the role model to Jubilee, had faded into someone Jubilee loved but pitied, and Jubilee was slightly scared that someone as strong as Rogue could be overwhelmed and fall into such a pit of despair as Rogue had eased herself into over the years.

When Jubilee first saw Storm, she was besieged by how mystical and magical and gorgeous the woman was. She wasn't surprised when she found out that, in her home of Africa, Storm was looked up to as a living goddess of the seasons. Storm was so graceful, beautiful, elegant. Storm protected Jubilee with such attractive and powerful actions, it was like watching a dance – but Storm's motherly instincts adopted with Wolverine's fatherly protection had instantly enveloped her and she had fallen into the ways of the X-Men easily because of this. Rogue had shown her the ropes like the big sister she portrayed, even though Rogue had since deteriorated.

"Urm, I think I'll wait for the others." Jubilee replied, politely refusing the fish.

"I heard you're getting sick of eating fish." Wolverine said.

"Ah – no, coz – ya see–"

"It's alright, I know what ya mean. I think everybody's getting sick of the same food. I can't wait to get home and sink my teeth into a steak, myself – with lots of hot sauce and a beer in my hand." Wolverine winked at Jubilee, who beamed back. "We just gotta make it today. Eat this – you need your strength. We should be on a ship eating vegetables and proper meat before the day is over."

"Knowing that will make swallowing the stupid fish even easier." Jubilee replied, taking her raw, sliced up fish and putting it into her mouth. "I want a hamburger with all the trimmings – I wouldn't even mind a salad with it! As long as it's not fish or polar bear."

Wolverine continued to slice his bounty of fish as Jubilee ate hers, grudgingly. Storm came over, limping, leaning on Rogue. She got settled on the floor before tucking into her fish, too.

*

An hour passed and the igloo, which was cleared of their few belongings, was a distant dot behind them. Shortly after eating, the four had quickly packed up their stuff, destroyed the igloo so no one would know they were there, and set off for the ocean.

"WATCH OUT!" Wolverine roared, diving out of the way.

It was too late for the depowered mutants, Rogue and Jubilee. A laser had shot at them, hitting the snow between them and flinging them in different directions. The mutant detectors had detected Wolverine and Storm and the chips inside Rogue and Jubilee's brains. Suddenly, six metal arms rose out of the ground, snow fluttering off of them. The nozzles of the arms started glowing blue, their gun heads aimed at Rogue, Jubilee, Wolverine and the injured Storm.

"SCATTER!" Wolverine ordered, grabbing Storm from the ground.

Jubilee and Rogue scrambled onto their feet, but, just as they did so, the blue lasers began to fire.


	5. Chapter 5

"Jubilee! Ya alrigh'?" Rogue gasped, having watched Jubilee be flung into one of the arms.

Rogue, herself, had been thrown from the spot she'd previously been standing on. She was bruised but okay.

After watching Jubilee get whacked into an arm thanks to the powerful, white-hot laser, Wolverine had roared and leapt to her side, leaving Storm on the ground. He dived through the arms, slashing the three he passed, making them crumble into slices of sparking machinery. There were four arms left. He landed next to Jubilee as the laser was nearly completely charged again. Rogue rushed to Storm, gathered her into her arms, and ran as far away from the lasers as she could, taking the injured Storm to safety.

"Come on, kid, get up!" Wolverine said, his gruff howl of a voice filled with concern.

Jubilee was unconscious.

Wolverine gathered the teen into his arms and over his shoulder, before slashing the laser into tiny shreds. He lunged at the other four lasers, skilfully bouncing and leaping from the snow to each laser, chopping them down and dodging the blasts, whilst he balanced Jubilee, safely, over his shoulder.

Wolverine scanned the area and saw where Rogue had taken Storm, before, hastily, following. Within moments he was at Rogue's side. More lasers had risen from the snow thickened ground.

"Ah remember when Ah had mah powers – carrying people wasn' such a pain on mah back." Rogue moaned, holding onto Storm and running as fast as she could with all of her might.

"Powers aren't such a bad thing, huh?" Wolverine growled, throwing Rogue a half-smile as he dived at one of the lasers and chopping it down. "Here, take Jubilee." He said as she woke up. "Take Storm and Jubes and run as fast as you can. I'll cover you."

"Hey kid, come on, ya heard the orders." Rogue said, chivvying Jubilee to get onto her feet. "We got some running to do, or Antarctica is suddenly gonna get hot and crispy for us."

"DODGE!" Jubilee screamed, leaping out of the way as six lasers shot at them.

Rogue, with Storm in her arms, flipped out of the lasers aims with not much ease but a lot of acrobatic ability.

"Seems Cajun's are good for somethin', huh – teaching to dodge." Rogue grinned to Storm, who held onto her for dear life.

"That's about all they're good for! It's coz they're always running away – arrghh!" Wolverine commented before leaping onto a laser a little too slowly, his arm grazing against the white hot laser beam, burning it.

Sewing in and out of the huge machinery, Rogue, carrying Storm, and Jubilee ran as fast as they could, whilst Wolverine attacked the lasers. They could see the ship – it was a slight dot away from them. It would take a few hours to get there, regardless of the speed they were running out. The only problem was the lasers seemed to pop up from the ground in the exact direction they were heading.

"ENOUGH!" Storm boomed, rising from Rogue's arms and into the sky. "I call upon the help of the lightning! Save us from the cruelty of PURE!"

Masses of blue lightning appeared in and around Storm's hands. A hard gust of wind blue upon them – Wolverine, who was starting to get exhausted, bound over to Rogue and Jubilee, wrapped his arms around their waists and dragged them away from the arms, which continued to blast at them. Within moments, as soon as Storm had decided she had enough lightning, she released all of the blue electricity from her hands. It raged down and onto the lasers.

The lasers flashed and sparked, violently, with all of the electricity, before exploding. Multiple explosions lined their walk, the hundred lasers booming and crashing, viciously, as the powerful lightning destroyed them, frying them.

"Come! We must go!" Storm ordered, her eyes shining white, her blue irises having vanished.

Wolverine threw the lighter Jubilee up to Storm, Jubilee screaming as it happened. Storm caught her with ease and flew towards the ship, quickly.

"We're gonna pick up speed now, kid. Hold on tight!" Wolverine rumbled, happily, throwing Rogue over his shoulder and pounding down the snow, attempting the keep up with Storm, who swiftly flew overhead at least seven times their pace.

*

A few hours had passed and the ship had finally come into view. Storm lowered onto the ground, putting Jubilee onto her feet, before collapsing.

"Damn it, she's used too much energy." Wolverine swore, putting Rogue down as the three rushed to Storm's side.

Rogue put her fingers underneath Storm's nostrils before checking her pulse.

"She's still alive, thank god, but her breathin' is real light." Rogue noted, worriedly. "We gotta take her to the boat, and fast."

Wolverine took Storm into his arms and quickly made his way to the ship, Rogue and Jubilee jogging to keep up with him.

"Hey there!" A welcomed voice called to them.

It had been the first time in months that they had heard the kind voice of another human being, other than themselves.

"We were startin' to get worried about ya. We were about to set sail – you guys never answered our calls." The man said, jogging over to the mutants.

"Aww, sorry about that, sugah." Rogue smiled as the man arrived by their sides. "Pretty guy like you gotta have a name to go with. Ya gonna tell us or are ya still stung by us nearly standin' ya up."

"A little bit of flattery gets ya exactly where ya wanna be. My name's Taylor, Billy Taylor." The guy grinned, before his eyes fell onto Storm. His smile vanished into a frown. "Is she alright?"

"Does she look alright, bub?" Wolverine growled, pulling Storm away as the man tried to take her into his arms.

"Logan – your arm!" Jubilee gasped, noticing the wound from where the laser had hit him.

"Anyone told ya that Antarctica's not a decent family vacation spot? Especially when you're unprepared." The guy said, softly. "Follow me, we'll take her to the sick bay."

Soon enough, Wolverine was sat by Storm's side, batting away anybody who tried to clean his wound. Storm had been fixed up to a drip, filled with antibiotics and left to rest. She had broken her leg and was highly undernourished and exhausted. They had helped sort out her leg as best as they could, but she'd have to go to a hospital when they boarded to get it properly looked over and sorted out. Wolverine refused to leave her side, causing him to, after a few hours, falling asleep in the chair by her side.

Jubilee and Rogue had been invited to a wonderful meal in the ships cafeteria.

"How long have ya been in Antarctica for, then?" Taylor asked, his attention focussed mainly on Rogue, leaving Jubilee to mingle with the other sailors, to her joy.

"'Bout two months," Rogue said, after a few moments of deliberating.

Taylor's jaw dropped.

"And you guys survived? What did you eat?" Taylor marvelled.

"Mainly fish and polar bear meat." Rogue replied, without thinking, hastily adding, "Logan is an incredibly hunted. Ah don' know how he did it, but we got fed and managed to survive. Lucky for us, Antarctic water's so damn fresh, huh?" She laughed.

"Must be one hell of a hunter to take down a polar bear." Taylor gasped. "What about warmth? How did ya get passed that?"

"Logan's good with his hands." Rogue explained. "Once ya skin the polar bear and clean it up a bit, it's a nice little blanket to cuddle up in – nice and warm."

Taylor folded his arms behind his head and laughed incredulously.

"You could've lived out there." He grinned.

"Can' say Ah'm gonna miss it – in fact, Ah'm lookin' forward to goin' back home. Ah've had enough of fish and polar bear. Ah also can' wait to get back into mah bed." Rogue smiled, delicately putting a fork loaded with mash potato, a bit of sausage and some peas into her mouth.

"I hope our bunks will accommodate you 'til ya get home." Taylor said.

"Sugah, anything's better than crawling into polar bear fur in the Antarctic." Rogue laughed.

After half an hour of eating, sipping hot chocolate and chatting and laughing with Taylor, Rogue finally decided to call it a night.

"Jubilee, you get a good night sleep tonight, yeah?" Rogue commented, tossing her beautiful waves of auburn and white hair out of her face.

"Yeah, sure," Jubilee replied, absentmindedly, happily giggling with the sailors and explorers.

"She won't listen." Rogue sighed, smiling, leaving the cafeteria with Taylor behind her.

"She's a child, why should she? She's havin' fun." Taylor smiled.

Rogue shivered, the wind chilling her as they walked along the deck.

"Here, wait a minute." Taylor said, stopping Rogue in front of him as he pulled off his jacket.

He wrapped it around Rogue's shoulders. He rubbed her arms with his hands as she pulled the jacket closer to her. Her heart began to quicken its pace and she gazed into Taylor's eyes. He was a rugged, handsome man, with shoulder length, dark hair, messy from the wind. He was weatherworn but still young, stubble on his strong jaw, his deep brown eyes gazing down on her. He was tall and muscled, a sailor for most of his life. He worked with the explorers, taking them to different destinations and helping them out, whilst being able to keep his nose in their work. He was intellectual but mostly muscle. He was raw humour, sweet but lacking of charm. Everything he said was not sugar coated, yet everything he said seemed refreshing. Maybe it was just because Rogue had not been near a man – Gambit – for three months that she suddenly felt an animal like feeling engulf her insides – a sudden need for human touch. She was in love with Gambit, but, with how everything was going with them, after Paris she had not touched him, she just needed something to quell her need to be touched.

As though he could read her mind, Taylor reached out and touched her face, his fingers stroking her jaw. She shivered and he continued to touch her, running his fingers through her hair. Her breath quickened, as did his. She was frozen to the spot, her gaze changing from his lips to his eyes. His lips parted, slightly, and she could see her own animalistic desire reflected in his eyes. Slowly, she leant towards him. He took her chin in his hand and drew her face closer to his, his other hand around her waist.

Rogue reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, touching his skin, stroking his face. Taylor, quickly pulled her closer to him, their lips inches away. Rogue shut her eyes, Paris rushing through her mind. His hot breath was dancing on her frozen lips – his breath didn't smell as sweet as Gambits, nor did Taylor's skin. As Taylor moved in to kiss her, she pulled away, slightly, taking in Taylor's scent and body, holding him against her and running her hands down his torso. She nuzzled his neck, sniffing in his scent.

He wasn't Gambit in the slightest, though he reminded her of him. Maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her – she needed Gambit so much, she needed to touch him, to hold him, she wanted him, she wanted to love him again, like when she'd given herself to him in Paris. With enough imagination, Rogue would be able to persuade herself that Taylor was Gambit – if she kept her eyes shut tight enough.

Taylor took Rogue's face in his hand, again, and brought her face up to his. Their lips were dangerously close, again. Rogue shut her eyes and all she could see was Gambit.


	6. Chapter 6

"Taylor, I'm in love." Rogue whispered, only a moment before Taylor kissed her.

"We've only known each other for a few hours," Taylor joked. "We haven't even kissed and you know you love me? I must be good."

"You know I'm not on about you." Rogue sighed.

"Yeah, I know ... the guy can't be that brilliant if you're here in _my_ arms, mind." He pointed out.

Rogue pulled away from him, immediately.

"Hey, hey, I'm sorry, I mean no offence." Taylor said, pulling Rogue back into his arms.

Rogue willingly allowed herself to be held against him, again, she could feel his warmth through his shirt. She rested her head on him, guilt filling her, quickly.

"I'm just saying it how it is. If you're in love – like, really in love, then why are you in my arms right now? Why did we nearly kiss?" Taylor asked, gently, stroking Rogue's hair.

"Because ... Remy an' mah ... our relationship is ... difficult." Rogue explained, hesitantly.

"Well, what's so difficult about it right now?" Taylor asked, moving Rogue from against his chest to in front of him, his hands holding her arms. "He's not here, but we are. Your relationship with him is difficult, but are we difficult? Sure, we haven't known each for that long, but we're still here – there's sparks between us, and you can't deny it."

Rogue stayed silent, she couldn't deny what he said. She loved Gambit, though, intensely, but everything was so difficult with him. She loved him – that was what made everything difficult. This man before her, though, she was attracted by him. She definitely did not love him, which made the temptation to kiss him that much stronger – she could use him as an outlet to take out her needs on.

"Does this make it easier? I won't say if you don't." He smiled, trying to urge this beautiful woman to kiss him – he'd never seen such a gorgeous being in his life.

Rogue remained silent, gazing up at him. He tried, again. He touched her face, and she closed her eyes. He put a hand on her waist and pulled her, firmly, against him, and she bit her bottom lip. He neared his lips to hers and her breath quickened – he could feel her heart pounding against her chest. He lowered his head and his lips danced upon hers. He kissed her. She kissed him back.

Rogue's arms wrapped around his neck, one hand entangled in his hair, the other tickling his neck – her fingers ice cold. Taylor's arms were around her, keeping her in a vice-like grip against his front, one hand holding her waist, the other hand finding its way to her buttocks. She gasped, a little, as he squeezed her, but she shifted closer against him. They stood, kissing, touching, squeezing, exploring through each other's clothes, right there on the ship's deck.

"How about I show you to your room?" Taylor whispered, after leaving a trail of kisses down her neck and nibbling on her earlobe.

Rogue could only release a purr as a reply. He held her hand, tightly, leading her to her bunk, which was far from Jubilee's – Wolverine would be staying at the sick bay with Storm.

Taylor pressed down on the door handle and pushed the door open, stepping through and leading Rogue into the room. He shut the door, quickly, releasing Rogue's hand as she wandered deeper into the room, looking around it, briefly, with short glances. As she stared out of the porthole, wondering where Gambit was, Taylor came up behind her. He had removed his shirt as soon as he had locked the door behind them when they'd entered the room, tossing the garment onto the floor.

He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her against him. He nuzzled her neck, sucking it, gently, swiftly moving her hair out of the way with his hand, before replacing it onto her waist. Rogue shut her eyes tightly and searched through her mind for memories of her night spent with Gambit. She found them amongst the shrouds of screams, scolding her for what she was about to do.

She felt his hands find their way to the zip of her battle outfit – the skin-tight green and yellow cat suit. He undid the zip, a finger grazing her skin as he opened the garment. Suddenly, like an animal, he pulled off the two jackets she was wearing and tossed them onto the floor. Rogue gasped as he turned her around and began kissing her lips, neck, chest ... soon their clothing was strewn across the floor and the hungry strangers were on the bed ...

*

"What have I done?" Rogue whispered, her eyes snapping open the next morning when she realised she was in a bed with a man – a man who wasn't Gambit.

Rogue leapt out of the bed as silently as she could, but that didn't stop Taylor for waking up. His eyelids fluttered upon and he gazed at her, a little smile at the corners of his lips.

"I'd say ya just made this trip a good 'un for me." Taylor replied, laughing a little. "Why? What do you think you've done?"

"I think I've made a huge mistake." Rogue replied, dashing around the room and picking up her clothes, trying to hide her naked body from Taylor's view.

He sighed and sat on the corner of his bed, running his hands through his hair and rubbing his eyes. He rose, grabbing his boxer shorts and pulling them on. He strode over to Rogue and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead.

"Look, don' touch me, okay. This is ... wrong, this is so wrong. Ah cheated on the man Ah love – the man who loves _me_! He wants to marry me an' Ah go off an'–"

"So is that the reason why ya relationship with him is so difficult? He asked you to marry him and you don't wanna marry him?" Taylor said, unable to hide the satisfaction on his face.

"Look, ya don' _understand_ so keep ya mouth shut." Rogue snapped. "Ah love him more than anythin' else in the world–"

"So you cheat on 'im, with me?"

"Ya don' understand!"

"I don't understand much by the way you talk. I didn't understand why ya called Rogue until last night." Taylor smirked, perching on the bed, with his legs open and his arms propping him up. His smirk vanished and was replaced by a serious look. "What I _do_ understand is last night was great – and you liked it. What I understand is that last night you were here with me, in _my_ bed, in _my_ arms, and not his. What I understand is that you're confusing matters because ya guilty, coz ya enjoyed last night just as much as I did."

Rogue leapt over to him and slapping her hand across his face – hard.

"The only reason why Ah enjoyed last night was coz Ah was thinkin' about Remy as it happened!" Rogue snarled, before whipping her hand to face the door, pointing at it. Taylor had flinched, thinking Rogue was going to slap him again, which Rogue had smirked at, satisfactorily, before returning to his ferocious glare. "Get out. NOW!"

"Ya know, Rogue, ya really hot when ya so angry like that." Taylor smiled, standing and putting his hands on her arms.

Rogue punched him in the face, sending him flying over the bed, his nose gushing out blood.

"AH SAID GET OUT!" She roared.

Taylor muttered swear words under his breath, holding onto his nose as he, clumsily, pulled his clothes on, one-handed. He strode over to the door and slammed it, hard, behind him.

Rogue rushed to the door and locked it, before pressing her back against it and sliding down into a heap.

"What have Ah done?" She whispered. "What's happening to mah powers – the chip was mean'a get rid of 'em. Ah may not have put him in a coma, but the force of that punch ... was it mah anger or was it mah powers?"

She sighed, tears rolling, rapidly down her face.

"What have Ah done? How could Ah do this to Remy?"

*

Rogue slipped into the cafeteria an hour later, spotting Wolverine, Storm and Jubilee together. Taylor shot her a look as she entered, but looked away almost immediately. She could hear the excuse he'd used as to why he'd broken his nose, because his fellow sailors were laughing about it: he'd said that he'd fallen over in the hallway and hit the floor face first.

"Hey, Rogue. How come you look so upset?" Jubilee questioned as Rogue sat opposite her.

As Rogue had made her way towards their table she had glanced over at Taylor's table. Wolverine instantly knew something was awry, but said nothing.

"Child, what's bothering you?" Storm asked, gently.

"Ah just had a rough night. Ah can fly, Ah can walk, Ah can run, Ah can drive and Ah can ride but it seems Ah can't go on boats." Rogue lied, with a little, insincere smile.

"I talked to the captain. We should reach New York in about thirty days, give or take." Wolverine said, swiftly changing subjects to Rogue's relief. "I also fixed the com-system when I was in the infirmary. Colossus and Jean think they're getting close on Cyclops, Havok and Sunfire. There's no word on how Beast, Nightcrawler and Gambit are doing, looking for Shadowcat, Spyke and Iceman."

Wolverine saw how stung Rogue looked at the mention of Gambit's name. Quickly, in his mind, he was putting together one and one in his mind – why Rogue looked so worried and on edge, why Taylor had broken his nose, why Rogue looked guilty and heartbroken at the mention of Gambit's name. He knew what was going on. His forehead furrowed and his face contorted with anger and distaste. He didn't hate Rogue for what she did, but he was seriously considering tearing Taylor in pieces and leaving him as lunch for the seals or polar bears.

"So we're the only ones who've been found?" Jubilee asked, incredulously.

"That ya are." Wolverine replied, gruffly, his stare fixed on Rogue, who quaked under it.

"What about Xavier? Any word on him?" Rogue asked, meekly.

"Nothing. We think he's still at PURE headquarters. As soon as the team have been reorganised we're having another visit to PURE H.Q."


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm so thirsty!" Shadowcat moaned, wiping sweat from her brow.

"Argh! Why did they have to take away our powers! I could've made some ice!" Iceman yelled, kicking the sand, angrily.

"Will you guys shut up? You've been moaning about the same things since we got dumped here." Spyke snapped. "We've survived here for two months. I _know_ they're coming to get us, soon, so just shut up and help me look for a way outta here!"

"We don't even know where 'here' _is_!" Iceman pointed out.

"It's the Sahara, d'uh." Shadowcat replied, slapping the back of Iceman's head. "We all know that – they _told_ us."

"Yeah, but we don't know where _in_ the Sahara we are!" Iceman fumed, glaring at Shadowcat.

"Look, we gotta be going the right way. They would've dumped us in the middle of the Sahara. We've walked for two months. We _gotta_ be getting near some kind of civilisation." Spyke calculated.

"Hey – what's that?" Shadowcat suddenly cried, pointing out across the massive dunes of sand to some kind of golden structure. "Is that what I think it is?"

"We're in Egypt!" Iceman marvelled, a grin spreading across his lips. "You're right, Spyke, we're near civilisation!"

"Come on!" Spyke grinned. "We're not eating antelope tonight!"

Shadowcat shuddered at the memory of watching Iceman and Spyke bash the skull of an antelope in after six days of not eating. She could deal with getting stabbed by the cactus as the three teenagers battered it down and plucked the spines from it, to drink the water, but watching the boys murder such a huge beast ... she had felt sick as she ate it, but eat it she did.

"You alright, Kitty? You look sick." Spyke asked, as Iceman ran ahead of them.

"Yeah, it's just ... the antelope's coming back on me." Shadowcat smiled.

"We'll be eating better than that tonight!" Spyke beamed, grabbing Shadowcat's hand. "Auntie O. was living in Egypt for a while and she taught me how to say some things."

They ran together, hand in hand, chasing after Iceman.

"Like, what can you say?" Shadowcat asked, interestedly, ecstasy filling her insides at the thought of being near people, other than Spyke and Iceman.

"Umm, the only thing I can say fluently is 'pass the gravy' but I think I remember how to say 'help' and 'do you speak English?'." Spyke laughed.

"Why did you learn 'pass the gravy'?" Shadowcat laughed, loudly and happily – the happiest she'd been in a long time.

"Like I thought I'd need to learn Egyptian." Spyke pointed out. "I learned funny phrases and loads of words I won't say in front of you, ya know, coz you're a lady."

"Oh, Evan!" Shadowcat giggled.

"Your Egyptian is gonna come in handy right about now." Iceman said, pointing at the foot of the pyramid. "There's people over there!"

Iceman, Spyke and Shadowcat stopped at the top of a large sand dune. They would have to slide down it to be able to get to the people and the pyramid.

"Come on, dude, race ya!" Iceman proposed, a huge grin spread across his face.

"Bring it on!" Spyke replied, grinning just as widely.

"What? No – stop – I'm not racing!" Shadowcat cried, but she was too late.

Iceman and Spyke leapt down the dune, skilfully sliding down it like they were surfing. Clouds of sand and dust flared up into Shadowcat's face.

"No fair!" Shadowcat moaned. "Argh, boys!"

She jumped into the clouds of sand, landing with a thud onto her rear end, before sliding down the dune, hiding her face in her hands, screaming all the way down.

"I won!" Iceman declared.

"No way, dude! _I_ won!" Spyke argued.

"I don't know what dune you were on, but _I_ won!" Iceman snapped.

"WATCH OUT!" Shadowcat screamed, rolling down the last few feet of the sand dune and crashing into Spyke and Iceman.

Spyke, Iceman and Shadowcat wearily got up, untangling themselves from each other. People shouting words they couldn't decipher, rushed to their sides to see what the commotion was all about.

"Hey, are you alright? What happened?" A man in a turban but otherwise Western clothes, asked, before saying the same things in Egyptian.

"You speak English! Great!" Spyke grinned, leaping to his feet.

"Oh man! It's so good to see another human being!" Iceman declared.

Shadowcat, dizzy from the roll, held a hand to her forehead and thanked the men for finding them, from her spot on the floor.

"How long have you three been out in the desert?" The man asked, helping Shadowcat to her feet, handing her his bottle of water.

"Way too long!" Spyke replied, gazing, yearningly, at the water canteen.

"Where are your parents? You can't be more than seventeen, all of you." Another man marvelled, handing his canteen of water to Spyke, while another man handed Iceman his water.

"You got that right. She," Iceman pointed to Shadowcat, "is only sixteen."

The three glugged down the water, handing the containers back to their owners, as they trudged over to the spot at the foot of the pyramid.

"How did you survive out there?" One of the men asked, indicating to the seats underneath a big tent for Spyke, Shadowcat and Iceman to sit on, in the shade, which they appreciated, greatly.

"You wouldn't believe how strong survival instincts are when you're trapped in the middle of a desert." Shadowcat replied, collapsing on the chair and wiping her forehead from sweat and sand.

"What are your names?" One of the men asked.

"My name's Evan, that's Bobby and she's Kitty." Spyke said. "What are your names?"

"They're the ones – the missing children! Quickly, go and get them!" The man said, ignoring Spyke's question.

Suddenly apprehension filled up inside of the three teenagers. Four men stood guard of Shadowcat, Spyke and Iceman, whilst three others ran over to a tent nearly a hundred feet away from them. After a few minutes they saw the three men returning to them, with another three in tow.

"KURT! GAMBIT! MR. MCCOY!" Shadowcat exclaimed, leaping out of her chair and into the arms of Kurt. "You found us!"

"Oh, uh, yeah ve did." Nightcrawler replied, blushing as Shadowcat placed a quick kiss on his lips.

Shadowcat, still blushing, moved her gaze to the floor, after kissing Nightcrawler, her blushed just as red as she did. Iceman and Spyke rushed over to their fellow X-Men, leaping onto Nightcrawler, who held a hand to his lips, making all three of them fall into a pile on the floor, as Shadowcat gave Beast a huge hug.

"Gambit get a hug, too?" Gambit smiled as Shadowcat wrapped her arms around Gambit's waist, almost half as tall as him. "You've tanned, petite."

Shadowcat blushed, her eyes glancing at Nightcrawler as the ecstatic, chatty teen boys got to their feet. Nightcrawler caught Shadowcat's gaze, and she quickly turned away.

"Let's get outta here!" Spyke beamed.

"Thank you for finding them, your assistance has been very much appreciated." Beast said, pulling his veil further over his head, hiding his face.

Although he was wearing an image-converter on his wrist, cunningly disguised as a watch, similar to the one Nightcrawler wore, Beast was still self-conscious of his looks, worried in case the converter failed for one reason or another, showing his true self.

"We'll get a jeep to take you into the town." The man in a turban said, grinning at the reunion between the six strangers before him. He turned to Iceman, Shadowcat and Spyke. "Be careful not to lose your way again, kids. You've had your friend's worried sick."

Soon enough, Beast, Gambit, Nightcrawler, Spyke, Iceman, Shadowcat and Nightcrawler were inside a jeep, being driven to the centre of Cairo. They passed many more pyramids, indescribable ruins and the great sphinx. Soon enough, however, huge skyscrapers and buildings towered before them – they had reached Cairo. The once missing teens could smell the water that ran through Cairo. The breeze rushing through their hair and dancing on their faces was most welcome and suddenly the heat didn't seem so bad.

When they reached Cairo and bid their farewells and gratitude to their rescuers, Beast, Gambit, Nightcrawler, Iceman, Shadowcat and Spyke went and bought food and drinks in a nearby restaurant. They were safe – for now.

They made their way, on the Blackbird, back to New York.

"We've found our three, over." Beast said into the com-system as he flew over a vast stretch of ocean at incomprehensible speed.

"Gotcha." Wolverine replied. "Any word on how Jean and Colossus are doin' lookin' for their lot?"

"Not a peep as of yet, my friend, but I'm sure they're doing as well as we have." Beast answered.

"How's Rogue?" Gambit interrupted. "Put her on, mon ami!"

On Wolverine's side of the com-system, Rogue rushed out of the room. They were still on the ship and had a week or so left until they reached New York. Wolverine stared after Rogue as she left, the door slamming behind her.

"She's not here right now." Wolverine growled. "We'll be back at the Institute in a week, we're still on our rescue ship. Keep me posted on how Jean and Colossus are doin'. Over and out."

Gambit sat back down in his seat, confusion settling over him. He swore he had heard Rogue talking to Storm at the beginning of the conversation between Beast and Wolverine. He wondered if the slamming of the door was Rogue leaving the room. Why would she not want to talk to him? What had happened in Antarctica? His mind raced with all of the possibilities of what could've happened.

"Are you, like, okay, Gambit?" Shadowcat asked, quietly.

"For some reason, petite, I don' think Antarctica is a place Rogue an' I should go. Troubles always appear."


	8. Chapter 8

"Argh! Come on! The waves are meant to be better than this!" Havok exclaimed, falling off his self-made surfboard.

"I think it's something to do with those huge barriers over there." Cyclops smiled, pointing only two hundred feet away at huge, thick, white blockades.

"Dude, why can't we just climb over them?" Havok asked, dragging his surfboard onto the sand and slamming it onto the beach.

"Remember when we did that last time?" Cyclops replied, warningly. "Poor Shiro got fried. It's a wonder he's alright, now."

"Thank god for seawater." Havok answered, sarcastically, rolling his eyes at his older brother.

"If it not been for seawater my arm would be infected!" Shiro pointed at his wounded arm, which had been bandaged up with part of Cyclops's shirt, excitedly, glaring at Havok.

"Hey, at least we're having fun." Havok sighed, flopping onto the crisp white sand, his arms folded behind his head and his eyes shut. "I mean, Rogue and Jubilee got dumped in the Antarctic, so they're probably freezing, Kitty, Evan and Bobby got dumped in the Sahara, so they're all boiling. We've got sand, seas and a whole island to ourselves. I don't know what PURE were thinking, but I feel like I'm on holiday!"

"Even when we had to hide in the trees when that huge wave tried drowning the island?" Cyclops asked, firmly. "We're filtering the seawater as well as we can and eating turtles and birds. If this is a vacation for you then–"

"Oh, come on, Scott, lighten up. I'm trying to look at everything positively, because I'm not gonna starve to death or drown feeling miserable." Havok snapped, propping himself up with his arms.

"When will we be found?" Sunfire asked, sadly. "We been here two month. When will we be home?"

"I don't know, Shiro. I really don't know." Cyclops answered, dejectedly.

Cyclops felt ashamed. He was a team leader of the X-Men, always hailed as being the model X-Man, and here he was, powerless and stuck on an island with no way of getting off it, unless he wanted to be fried alive by the lasers surrounding the island. He and seven of his team mates had been captured by the enemy, had their powers practically stripped of them and then left in various places around the Earth, to die a painful, gruesome death. He had failed as a team leader, he had failed as an X-Men and most of all, he had failed his friends – he had failed the love of his life, Jean, he had failed his little brother, Havok, and he had failed the man who had helped him become the 'model X-Man' he was today – Charles Xavier. Somewhere in the midst of PURE, Xavier was there, trapped or being tortured, and Cyclops couldn't help but feel guilty over it. He blamed himself for the incredibly deep hole the X-Men were in. He had half a mind to, as soon as the X-Men had been regrouped, Xavier had been rescued and they'd destroyed PURE, to quit being a team leader ... maybe even quit the X-Men altogether. How could he be allowed to stay after failing so dreadfully at a mission he had been leading?

"Don't look so glum, man. We'll be fine, I swear. Both of you, just look on the bright side of things for a second: somehow the X-Men will find us and rescue us. They'd never leave a man behind. For now we can just relax, we don't have to fight crime or anything right now, we just gotta deal with eating turtle soup constantly and drinking crappy water." Havok said, softly, grinning at his brother and his friend, before lying back down on the sand.

Cyclops suddenly felt even more miserable than before, which he didn't realise was possible, even for a genetically enhanced being like himself. In such a rut as they were in, Cyclops couldn't even keep up moral for two seventeen year old boys. He was eight years older than them and his little brother had to soothe the situation and try and cheer everybody up. How much lower could he fall?

"I wonder how Jean's doing?" Cyclops pondered, after twenty minutes or so of just lying in the sand with Sunfire and Havok, staring at the clear sky.

"Ask her yourself!" Havok cried, leaping to his feet and pointing out towards the sea.

"They here! They here! We finally go home!" Sunfire gasped, happily, leaping up and down and beaming as he watched Jean float herself and Colossus from off of a small ship just metres away from the barriers.

"WATCH OUT! THE BARRIERS HAVE LASER BEAMS!" Cyclops roared, cupping his hands around his mouth to magnify his voice.

Jean managed to smile at the three stranded on the beach. Her concentration was spent trying to keep Colossus and she afloat in the air, flying over the distance between the boat and the barriers and the barriers and the island.

"They look vorried." Colossus pointed out, watching the three X-Men jumping up and down, flapping their arms about and hollering things at them.

"They look – argh! – worried." Jean managed to say. "What are they trying to–"

"JEAN!" Cyclops screamed, watching a laser hit Jean and Colossus.

The beam skidded across the bubble of Jean's mind that she'd encased Colossus and herself in. Luckily, the beam dissipated thanks to the strength of Jean's telekinesis, but Jean's concentration had been broken. She and Colossus fell fifteen feet into the water, luckily, however, Jean had managed to save them from the bone breaking crash into the water about two feet before they'd fallen into it. Colossus ignited his powers and all of his flesh became covered in incredibly strong metal plating.

"Come here!" Colossus ordered, grabbing Jean in one of his huge arms and shielding her with his other. "I'll get us through, you fly us over. Make sure I face the laser at all times."

"Right," Jean gasped, completely hidden from the danger of the lasers.

Jean brought her fingers to her forehead and began concentrating as hard as she could. She raised Colossus and herself up into the air and began floating them over towards the barriers. She moaned and grunted as she used as much strength as she could to get them over the barriers – Colossus's heavy metal plating creating much more weight than he was before.

The lasers shot at Colossus and Jean, viciously, but Colossus just used his free arm to punch the lasers away. He managed to send the laser beams back to the arms they'd been shot from, destroying the machinery with a violent explosion and a spurting of fire. As soon as the barriers on the part of the island facing them had been destroyed, Jean forced her telekinesis to make them go faster to the island.

"We have to stay out of the water." Jean gasped, falling into Cyclops's arms. "The electrical wiring – it's in the water – if we fall into it–"

"We fry. Got it." Havok grinned, leaping onto Colossus as soon as his metal plating had returned to his flesh.

"You save us – thank you!" Sunfire said, bowing, slightly, and smiling, deeply, at Colossus and Jean. "No more turtle!"

Jean, Colossus, Cyclops and Havok laughed.

"You're as bad as Kurt." Havok grinned.

"I want proper food – no turtle!" Sunfire exclaimed, holding his stomach with both hands. "So hungry!"

"Well, come on, then. Let's get back to the boat." Jean smiled, slowly getting back to her feet.

"Are you sure you're going to be able to manage it?" Cyclops asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'll give it my best shot." Jean smiled, weakly, still holding on to Cyclops to steady herself.

He wrapped his arms around her as she put her long, delicate fingers to her temples. Havok, Sunfire and Colossus huddled around the couple as Jean created a spherical field around them and floated them, shakily, over to the boat. About three feet over the boat's deck Jean lost her strength to float them, gently, down, causing the five to fall. Colossus landed on his feet, rocking the small ship, Havok fell onto his front whilst Sunfire landed on his rear end and Jean and Cyclops fell into a heap.

"Never taking that flight again." Havok joked, rubbing his face which had whacked the deck.

"Sorry about that," Jean apologised, faintly. "I just – I lost all energy."

"It's fine, fact is we're still on the ship." Cyclops soothed.

"I veell take us home." Colossus said, firmly, making his way to the helm.

"Dude, hold on tight." Havok whispered, wearily, to Sunfire, leaping into a chair, immediately behind Colossus, in the control room. "Where did you find this thing?" Havok added after Jean had been gently lowered into a chair, everyone but Colossus seated.

"We vill give it back vhen ve return." Colossus winked, before starting up the ship and beginning the cruise to New York.


	9. Chapter 9

Gambit paced the Institute foyer, briskly, a card flipping between his fingers in anticipation and eagerness. Colossus, Cyclops, Havok, Sunfire and Jean had arrived at the Institute maybe a day or so after Gambit, Nightcrawler and Beast had returned with Shadowcat, Spyke and Iceman. Wolverine, Storm, Jubilee and Rogue were expected five days ago, but still hadn't returned. A brief and hurried phone call from Jubilee the evening before had announced that they would be back that day – the morning Gambit was pacing the foyer. Cyclops had gone out for his morning run when dawn had broken and noticed Gambit pacing. He'd wondered how long Gambit had been there – if he'd even gone to bed at all. During the day, when the other X-Men were about, Gambit had played it cool, calm and collective, as was his usual attitude, but as the days crawled by, agitation had started to twinge his demeanour, getting worse as the days went on. The evening of the phone call from Jubilee, however, had caused him to become uncharacteristically anxious upon their arrival.

"Jubilee, petite!" Gambit had cried, hearing Jubilee's voice on the other side of the phone, which he'd been manning since his and his team mates return to the Institute. "What happened? Ol' Wolvie's directions not as good as they used to be, non? Dat why y' all so late coming home?"

"We had to stop in a docking yard, a few days ago, on the way back home – we hit some troubles on the way back, you know? It's okay, though, coz we're all alright. We'll be home tomorrow! Morning time or early afternoon. I can't wait to come back!" Jubilee replied, beaming from ear to ear down the phone.

"We be more den happy to have y' back, too, petite. Maybe y' lose Logan somewhere accidentally on purpose on y' way back, for y' uncle Gambit, non?" Gambit smiled.

"You guys are so mean to each other." Jubilee tutted, rolling her eyes, though Gambit couldn't see her.

"Ah, s'all games, chere, fun an' games. Wolverine's good to play with – a sore loser, which makes him even more fun." Gambit explained, before slipping in, casually: "Y' gonna put Rogue on the phone? Been a long time since I heard her voice – she more fun to be with than Logan."

"More fun to talk to than me, too, huh?" Jubilee asked, jokingly.

"Y' like Rogue's lil sister, petite, makin' y' sorta like my lil sister-in-law. Of course I want t' talk to y', but ... but Rogue an' I got some adult things t' talk about." Gambit grinned.

"Eww! I don't even _wanna_ know what you're gonna talk about. I don't think the ship'll allow dirty phone calls, either." Jubilee cried.

"Then don' tell 'em." Gambit smirked.

"I'm gonna get Rogue, now." Jubilee said, cutting the conversation.

The sound was muffled, signifying to Gambit that Jubilee had covered the receiver with her hand. Unfortunately, he could still hear what was being said on the other end of the phone.

"Rogue, Rogue. Err – Kurt's on the phone. He, err, wants to talk to you ... you know, brother and sister things – err –"

"Give us the phone, girl. O' course Ah wanna talk to him!" Rogue had replied, happily.

Gambit was relieved that she was happy but confused and a little annoyed that Jubilee had told Rogue that Kurt was on the phone and not him.

"Hey, Kurt, how ya doin'? Ah haven't seen ya in so long!" Rogue gushed down the phone. "Jubilee told me about ya little kiss with Kitty – ya gonna tell ya big sister what happened? Ah got all day, kid."

"'Fraid I don' have a big sister, chere, an' I never kissed Kitty, but I'll sure tell y' 'bout the kisses I had in Paris a while ago – not to mention the _incredible_ se–"

"Gambit? What the heck are _you_ doin' on the phone? Jubilee told me Kurt was on!" Rogue gasped, angrily.

"What y' problem, chere? Gambit not good enough?" Gambit played.

"Look, Ah gotta go–" Rogue began, before Gambit interrupted.

"Why? Y' just told me y' had all day." Gambit argued. "Or was that just coz y' thought I was Kurt?"

"Look, Ah just said that to get Kurt to tell me 'bout his kiss." Rogue snapped, panicking on the other end of the phone, glaring, furiously, at Jubilee.

"So y' had all day long to gossip 'bout a teenager's kiss, but y' have no time to talk to the love of y' life about how y' been doin' these last few months?" Gambit growled.

"He's mah brother, Gambit, mah _brother_! O' course Ah'm gonna make time to listen to things like that – they're important." Rogue replied, without thinking of what she was saying.

"I'm not important t' y', then, chere?"

"No, that's not what Ah meant – ya don' understand – ya don' see where Ah'm coming from." Rogue started, finishing, abruptly, as she saw what a hole he was burying herself into.

"Gambit sees everythin', chere. Gambit sees y' tryin' t' hide somethin' from him. I'll find out, chere. There no secrets in true love, non? Or am I the only one who not been hidin' anythin'?"

Gambit was answered by the phone tone, one long drone of a beep, filling his ear. He sighed and slammed the phone down.

Gambit rubbed his head of that recent memory, flicking the card alight and then off as he twisted it between his fingers. Gambit hadn't been able to get that conversation with Rogue out of his mind – he kept trying to think how it had ended with her hanging up on him – why she had tried to avoid him. It led him on to question why she had pulled away from him after her powers had returned. At first Gambit had assumed that she had pulled away because she was upset at getting her powers returned to her, but he couldn't understand how that hurt would last for so long. In Paris she had seemed to open and welcoming to the idea of learning how to control her powers, with Gambit next to her, helping her. Did she suddenly change her mind? If so, what had caused her to change her mind so abruptly?

"What y' hidin', chere?" Gambit muttered, throwing the lit-up card into the air and watching it explode in mid fall.

*

"They're home!" Spyke beamed, skateboarding into the foyer with Bobby and Havok alongside him.

Everyone was within earshot of the boy's announcement, dashing out of the rooms they'd occupied, dropping whatever they had been doing at the time, and leaping into the foyer. Gambit stayed sat at the back of the crowd, shadow half-covering him. Suddenly he didn't want to be the first person who welcomed the four back home. He wanted to see what Rogue would do, face to face, with him. If she would jump into his arms and embrace him, or if she'd ignore him, or if she'd even run straight passed him and keep herself a good distance from him.

Jubilee bounced through the doors, first, leaping into Kitty's arms, embracing her best friend. Nightcrawler, Havok, Bobby and Spyke jumped around them, each receiving a hug from their friend in turn. After leaping into Colossus, Jean, Cyclops and Beast's arms, Jubilee passed a meek glance at Gambit. She gave him a little smile and he gave her a tiny wave, before turning his glance back towards the door, waiting on Rogue to pass through it. Jubilee thought that maybe Gambit was till stung over the conversation, Rogue having yelled at her for lying – thus meaning Gambit had overheard her.

"Okay, so tell me _all_ about it!" Jubilee grinned, grabbing Kitty's hand, the two girls prancing up the stairs in giggles.

Next, Storm and Wolverine entered, side by side. Spyke jumped over to his aunt and hugged her, Storm leaving a kiss upon his head.

"I missed you, Auntie O. I'm glad you're alright." Spyke smiled, wiping the lipstick from his forehead.

"And I missed you, too, Evan." Storm replied, warmly, gazing upon her nephew, and all of her friends crowding the hallway.

Storm and Wolverine received their welcomes, though Wolverine's were a little more timid from the teenagers than Storm's had been.

Finally, Rogue entered the foyer.

The bustling and chatting crowd of friends welcomed her into the Institute, all giving her hugs. Wolverine had left Storm in Jean's capable hands. Jean had welcomed Rogue, hugged her, and then left to take Storm into the infirmary to get some medical attention for her wounds and exhaustion. Wolverine walked over to Rogue's side as the crowd dissipated into bubbling groups of chatter, Gambit still standing at the back of the foyer, leaning against the stairs banister.

"I'm right here if you need me, Rogue." Wolverine growled, looking at Gambit without his usual glare.

"Okay." Rogue replied, before letting out a deep breath and making her way towards Gambit. "Gambit, we need to talk."


	10. Chapter 10

"Y' know, chere, every time I told a girl that 'we need to talk' it never ended well – normally with tears on her part." Gambit said, entering Rogue's bedroom and glancing about, casually, absentmindedly lighting a cigarette and taking a deep drag from it.

"Ah dunno _how_ this is gonna end." Rogue answered, gravely, snatching the cigarette out from Gambit's lips and opening her window, hurling the cigarette out of it, smoke streaming from it as it fell through the sky. "But Ah'm not sure if it's gonna end well."

"What happened in Antarctica?" Gambit asked, bluntly, taking a seat on Rogue's double bed, inhaling the fresh, sweet scents of her room before he sighed. "Why y' been actin' so strange with Gambit since Antarctica? I done nothin' wrong. Why y' be so off with me?"

Rogue sighed and stared out of her bay window. She took one of the many stuffed animals and teddies she had perched on the seating of the bay and sat down, herself, holding the teddy against her chest.

"Ya know, Ah've had this teddy since Ah was three years old – it was a gift from Mystique and Destiny on mah third birthday. It was mah favourite present that Ah ever got. No matter where Ah've gone Ah've always taken it – no matter how much Ah hate Mystique … Ah just can't get rid of this damn toy. Ah love it so much that Ah couldn't get rid of it – it's a part of me now, as stupid as that sounds." Rogue said, gazing out of the window with half-shut eyes, stroking at the battered-and-bruised teddy bear.

"What's dat got to do with Antarctica, chere?" Gambit asked, quietly, staring at her with his heart in his throat.

The sunlight from the huge window shone down her, illuminating every hair on her head, every sparkle in her eyes. She was so beautiful …

"You're just like this teddy." Rogue said.

"Oh, yes? An' how is that, chere?" Gambit asked, snorting with laughter, briefly.

Rogue ignored his giggles and carried on. She seemed to be in her own little world, her eyes, unblinkingly, glued on the gorgeous view outside, her fingers holding, tightly, to the teddy bear. She acted as though Gambit wasn't there, sat on her bed, listening to her – she gazed out of the window and spoke like she was talking out loud to herself, or maybe even to the teddy.

"Ah've got so accustomed to ya being with me – ya there when Ah need ya, Ah can cuddle ya when Ah'm sad and Ah'm completely, madly in love with ya. No matter how much bad happens Ah could never even dream of gettin' rid of ya – Ah couldn't be in this world, without ya. Ah just couldn't bear it. Ah love ya so much." Rogue explained.

Gambit's lips parted and his eyes widened. Suddenly being compared to the teddy wasn't funny anymore, instead it was completely complimentary, not to mention exactly how he felt about Rogue.

"I love y', too, chere." Gambit replied, sincerely, moving and sitting next to her on the bay window.

He took one of her hands in his, but she quickly took her hand back and stood up, turning her back on him.

"This teddy … it's so close to falling apart. Ah've tried mending him so many times but … but he's just so broken apart. Ah adore this teddy too much to throw him out, but … But soon he's gonna be broken beyond repair." Rogue let out a deep sigh and turned to face Gambit, her eyes glistening. "So are we, Remy. Ah love you so much it's unreal, but … but it's time I threw this teddy away …"

Gambit stared at her with disbelief as she wandered over to the bin across her room, staring down at the teddy in her hands. She pressed her foot down on the peddle and the lid of the bin flipped open. She stroked the face of the teddy, a fingertip touched on of the deep, brown glass eyes of the teddy. Rogue, gently, let go of the teddy's arm and watched him fall into the bin. She stared at the teddy for a few, silent moments, before removing her foot from the peddle and the lid shut, hiding the teddy from view.

Rogue turned and faced Gambit, suddenly feeling so small and empty, a few tears that she'd tried to hold back, rolling down her cheeks.

Gambit stared at Rogue, his face feeling warm, his eyes glowing.

"What are y' sayin', Rogue?" He asked, softly.

Rogue stood in front of him and he rose. She placed her hand on his face and he put his hands on her waist.

"Ah'm sayin' goodbye." Rogue replied, sadly, her voice broken by tears as they cascaded down her face. "Ah'm sayin' Ah love you but … but it's time that we finally accepted … it's time we said goodbye …"

"I don' wanna say goodbye, chere. It's not right – we've been through so much together!"

"Ah've had that teddy for twenty years … Ah've loved it so much but … it's broken beyond repair …"

"I don' give a damn about dat teddy right now, chere!" Gambit cried, stroking Rogue's hair with one hand and stroking her face with the other. "I care about _you an' me_! Why do we gotta end?"

"Because we can't be fixed! Do ya not understand?" Rogue exclaimed, pulling away from Gambit, holding an arm around her waist and covering her face with the other as she finally stopped trying to hold back the tears and let them fall down her face, leaving red stains down her cheeks and neck. "We've been through so much but we gotta realise that maybe you an' me aren't meant to be – fate's done so much to keep us apart, but we always got back together–"

"Exactly! We always got back together! Dat's gotta mean something, non?" Gambit persisted, his voice wavering.

"But somethin' is always gonna come and separate us again … Ah think it's time we finally did as fate says and stay apart. Ah'm so sorry …" Rogue whispered.

Gambit walked over to her, hastily, in three large strides. He pulled her hands around his neck and held her, closely and tightly, against him.

"I never wanna let you go." Gambit whispered, pressing his lips against hers.

Rogue kissed him back, holding him against her, crying in their kiss.

"It's gotta happen … and it has … Ah'm sorry, Remy … it's over … Ah'm so sorry …" Rogue replied, pulling away from him.

"Do y' love me, chere?" Gambit asked.

"Ah love you more than anythin' else in the world, which is why this has gotta happen." Rogue answered, making her way over to her bedroom door.

"I love you, chere."

"Ah love you, too." Rogue held the cold door handle in her shaking hand, pausing and staring at her feet before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her, shutting the door on Gambit.


	11. Chapter 11

Pinpricks of rain dotted the windscreen, slowly getting heavier. Rogue sighed, opening the window and sticking her hand out, just to feel the cold, bitter rain. The wind whipped her hand, but she didn't care – she could _feel_ it. Broken threads of rain slipped down her hand, dripping and dropping onto the sodden ground. She wandered what it would be like, if ever the damn chip in her head was taken out … the rain and the cold would be the only things she could feel on her skin. She would never be able to feel a man's touch … Gambit's touch … one her bare skin, ever again.

Gambit …

Her eyes hurt from all the crying she had done.

After she had left Gambit in her room in the Institute, she had rushed into the garages and dived into her red convertible. The skies had grown darker as the day wore on, and now, the evening of her return to the Institute, she sat in her car, on a cliff overlooking Westchester, the foliage of the thick, emerald trees shading her from view. The rain still managed to get through the leaves, however, leaking in a mass of silver and pouring everywhere in sight. The rain was heavier outside of the shelter of the trees, bombing down on Westchester like billions of silver bullets. Mist rose up from the ground, the warmth of the soil mixed with the coldness of the rain. She could feel it all on her bare hand.

Rogue sighed, remembering that blessed night in Paris.

Rogue had given herself, all of herself, willingly, to Gambit. She had felt a cold shiver run down her spine as Gambit undressed her, kissing her cold, untouched flesh as he did so. She felt that same cold shiver run down her spine as she remembered that night. In Paris, under the French moon and stars, out in the open by the beautiful, twinkling River Seine, hidden from the public eye, yet still so revealed in the moonlight. She had given Gambit her virginity, and he had taken it, proudly but gently. He had filled her with so much ecstasy … it really was the greatest night of her life. Her time with Taylor had been nothing compared to Gambit, in fact, just having Gambit hold her in his arms, whether their bare skin touched or not, was ten times better than being with Taylor.

Rogue was ashamed, horrified and completely sickened by her actions. Taylor seemed like a nice man, he was kind and she did like him. How she could possibly cheat on Gambit … she had no idea why she had done it.

"I was so lonely," Rogue whispered to herself, her eyes suddenly filling with more tears. She pulled her hand from out of the window and covered her eyes. "I was _so lonely_ …"

Every second she spent, after her night with Taylor, was filled with Rogue scolding herself. If she truly loved Gambit then surely she wouldn't have cheated on him – if she was as much in love with him, as loyal to him and she had been before their night in Paris, surely she wouldn't have cheated. Gambit didn't deserve a woman who gave in to loneliness as easily as Rogue had. He especially didn't deserve a woman who kept so many secrets from him, including her night with Taylor.

Rather than telling him exactly why she was acting off with him, she had broken up with him – ended the greatest thing that had ever happened to her – ended the truest love ever to shine upon her. Sure, times had been hard with Gambit – whenever something good happened, something would _always_ come and destroy that peace, destroy the moment. But … as Rogue thought about it … it never really _did_ destroy the goodness that had happened. Of course, Rogue and Gambit had always argued – Gambit had always tried to persuade Rogue to kiss him when she had her powers – he wanted her and he wanted to kiss her. Rogue knew exactly how he felt, but her love for him and her need for him to never be hurt were too strong to force her to give into any desires she had.

They didn't stop her from cheating on Gambit with Taylor, though, did they?

Deep down Rogue knew she loved Gambit, and Gambit's dream – to be forever with him, married, having his children … they were her dream. She had dreamt about those same things that Gambit had dreamt of, for so long. To be with Gambit forever, no X-Men, no fighting, just spending the rest of her life with the man she loved – she didn't even care if they had children or not – just to be as close to a normal couple and be able to physically show him how much she loved him … that was what she wanted more than life itself.

Rogue had her chance.

With the chip inside her brain, she had the chance to be with Gambit, like a normal couple – be able to touch each others skin, kiss each other, cuddle, hold each other … she had that chance. No more would she be looking at Cyclops and Jean, as they walked around the huge grounds of the Institute, bare hands entwined, kissing each other under the shade of the huge oak tree in the garden of flowers … She had her chance …

"Damn it all to hell!" Rogue swore, whacking the dashboard with her fist.

Now she'd broken up with Gambit, for good, she didn't have that chance anymore. She'd ruined it, solely because she didn't have the gumption to tell Gambit what she'd done with Taylor, whilst on the way back to New York. Why did she not tell Gambit? She was scared of him leaving her, so what had she done? She had left him, instead. It seemed like the only answer, the only way to solve the problem, but it hadn't solved anything. She felt just as bad as she had before, but even emptier than before … she didn't have that one thing, the rock that kept her from flowing away into a meaningless existence. Gambit was that rock, but rather than flowing off into a meaningless existence, she was stuck inside the shell of her body, her mind spinning with residue of other's minds, pushed into the back of her head, whilst all of her times with Gambit flurried before her eyes, the beautiful night in Paris tainted by the memory of just kissing Taylor … How could she have been so _stupid_?!

Gambit and she were together for years – they had been part of the X-Men for so long. All the time, ever since Gambit had set his eyes on Rogue and they'd become a couple (Gambit had to convince Rogue to be his … she had wanted to so much, but she was scared that he'd get bored of her, seeing as they couldn't touch, and then leave her for someone he could touch), Gambit had been loyal and faithful, not even setting eyes on another woman. Of course, their relationship had been on-off for a while, and Rogue wandered if Gambit had gone with other woman whilst they were not together. Somehow, though, she knew, deep in her heart, that Gambit would rather spend the rest of eternity fighting a million Mister Sinister's, rather than even dream of being with another woman.

Rogue stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut, tightly, behind her. She walked in front of her car, in the clearing of the trees, and felt the rain plummet and hammer down upon her. She stayed there, her whole body shivering from the freezing cold, her whole being soaked. She could even swear that the rain was so heavy it soaked through into her insides, washing them clean of any feeling engulfing her.

Rogue sat down on the bonnet of her car after twenty minutes of standing in the rain. She took off her shoes, unzipped her outfit and pulled it off, difficultly, as she had become so wet her clothing seemed to be a second skin. After a few minutes of struggling, however, she had managed to pull off all of her clothes. She stood back into her previous spot, out in the clearing, and let the rain take over her whole body drenched and reddening from the hardness and harshness of the rain.

Rogue didn't care, though. She didn't care about the excruciating pain, the almost convulsion like shivers or the blueing of her lips and fingertips. The rain was washing away the bad deeds she had committed against Gambit. It was punishing her for what she had done. It had washed away every single thought inside her mind, including the minds of others. She was suddenly calm, suddenly at peace, suddenly empty but in the best of ways.

She didn't hurt anymore.


	12. Chapter 12

"My child! Where have you been?" Storm gasped, walking through the foyer from the infirmary.

"Out," Rogue replied, cryptically. "What are ya doin' outta the infirm'ry?"

"I felt like a wander," Storm answered, pulling the sodden, pale, shivering Rogue into the living room, in front of the roaring fire. "There's only so long one can stay in the same room with nothing to do."

"Ah woulda thought Logan'd be with ya." Rogue commented, sitting, gratefully, in the armchair directly in front of the fire.

"He was with me, but I told him to leave." Storm replied, passing Rogue a smile as she added, "There's only so long one can stay in the same room with nothing to do, with a man who hasn't had a shower for a while."

"Ya so naughty, Ororo." Rogue giggled, taking the blanket from the back of the armchair and wrapping it around herself.

"Logan is one of the dearest people to me," Storm smiled, gazing into the flames. "But even so, a showered friend is a lot more pleasant to be with than a … malodorous friend."

"_Malodorous_? Somethin' Hank'd say, isn' it?" Rogue sighed, after laughing, hard, at what Storm had said.

"Hank was the healer in the infirmary, since I was one of the patients." Storm admitted. "I could never think of such a brilliant word to describe Logan, but, thankfully, Hank could. Saying that, I must've been bad before I bathed."

"Well, technic'lly Ah've showered." Rogue joked, holding her arms out as if to give Storm a better view of her soaking body.

"And yet you still seem to smell like a wet dog, and look like a drowned rat, child." Storm smiled, tilting her head and raising her eyebrows at Rogue.

"Ah think that's the meanest thing ya ever did say to me." Rogue gasped, before laughing. "Ya right though, Ah smell horrible … Ah should really go get a bath."

Storm rose from her soft, deep armchair – one of which Rogue was sat on, and numerous others were scattered around the huge living room, as well as multiple sofas, equally as comfortable. One or two others, younger mutant students of the Institute, were positioned around the living room, muttering amongst each other, reading or doing homework. At such a late hour, however, most of those straggles of students were yawning, stretching and bidding a good night to each other before leaving to their rooms.

"Come then, child. Let's go and get this bath run for you." Storm smiled, warmly, upon Rogue.

Rogue grinned back at the woman. Somehow Rogue didn't feel as cold as she did. Sure, the fire helped thaw her coldness, but her clothes were still sodden. Deep down inside, however, Storm's smile seemed to wash away just as much pain and guilt Rogue felt as the harsh downpour had. Storm didn't realise it (though she knew something had gone wrong with Rogue) but her smile meant a lot more than just the loving friendship Storm and Rogue shared between each other. That one smile meant that someone was not ashamed of her – was not ready to disown her for all of the crimes Rogue had committed, including the crimes of love she had committed against Gambit.

Storm and Rogue, who was still wrapped up in the warm blanket, made their way up to Rogue's room, which was, thankfully, far away from Gambit's room. Little did anyone know Gambit was not inside his room. Rogue gazed across the massive landing, gazing down the corridor that led to the wing where Gambit's room was. Her heart sunk. Even though there was a big distance between their rooms, the Institute still seemed far too small for the two of them. That wasn't to say that she wanted Gambit to leave, because she definitely wanted him to be as close by as possible, it was just that … she loved him so much, but everything was so confusing and painful. She dreaded to imagine what it would be like to see him the next morning.

Steam filled Rogue's en-suite bathroom, covering the tiles and mirrors with mist. Rogue was stood, gazing out of her window, wrapped up in a towel. Storm was busying about in the bathroom, filling the hot water with bubbles, lighting Rogue's candles, which were scattered around the room, with a tiny bolt of lightening from one of her long, slender fingertips.

Rogue turned from the window and sighed, drawing the thick, deep red curtains closed. The sky was black, the rain had not settled down, making the stars almost indistinguishable. The moon, however, glowed like a large silver coin amidst the clashing and crashing of raging weather. As she moved to her music area and stuck on a CD into her sound system, Rogue caught a glance of the silver bin by her make up desk, in the corner of her eye. Suddenly she felt an overwhelming urge surge through her – an urge telling her to take the teddy from the bin and hold it as close to her as she could and just cuddle it, despite creating any further damage to it.

Storm, thankfully, rescued Rogue from that powerful temptation, to tell her that her bath was ready.

"Rest yourself, child. I'm sure you've had a busy day." Storm said, softly, stroking Rogue's head as she passed her. "If you need to talk to anyone, I'm just across the corridor."

"Thanks, sugah. Ya don' know how much Ah appreciate it." Rogue whispered back.

Storm gave her another gentle smile, before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

Rogue removed the towel from her body, after entering her bathroom. She sunk into the bath water, bubbles popping by her ears. The candle light flickered, creating a soothing glow of warm orange and red. Music ran through Rogue's ears, Alison Krauss's "Simple Love". Immediately the song reminded her of Gambit and their dream. Rogue closed her eyes and imagined how things could've been, if only things had been different.

*

"Bit late to go for a bike ride, don't ya think, Cajun?" Wolverine growled, as Gambit entered the garage.

"Y' sense of smell is horribly accurate, mon ami, and slightly disturbingly violating." Gambit replied, carelessly.

"Thought ya woulda been tucked up in bed fast asleep, not going for a late night cruise." Wolverine commented as Gambit hurled his leg over his beast of a motorbike.

"Not'in' to do with y'." Gambit answered, curtly, abandoning all of his usual finesse with words and quick comebacks.

"Listen. I don't like you, an' you don't like me – we both know that." Wolverine spat. "But whatever's happened between you and Rogue, it's not worth leaving over. With Xavier away, this place is falling from the threads. Before you decide to run off in a huff and cry over what's happened, you should think of the bigger picture."

"Get to the point, mon ami, Gambit's got places to go." Gambit barked.

"There're more important things than your precious love life at the minute." Wolverine snarled. "No matter how much I hate you, you deserve to know what's goin' on – you're part of the X-Men. In a weeks time we're goin' back to P.U.R.E. headquarters and rescuing Charles – we're gonna destroy P.U.R.E. once and for all. With Charles gone, Storm, Cyclops an' I are in charge. We're gonna break the rules a bit an' put a stop P.U.R.E. no matter the cost."

"The cost to them, non?" Gambit asked, interestedly.

"We've been to P.U.R.E. H.Q. three times an' failed in our missions." Wolverine admitted, furiously. "The plan is to hunt down our old friend, Dr. Adler an' get the chips outta Cyclops, Jubilee, Havok, Sunfire, Shadowcat, Spyke, Iceman an' Rogue's heads. After that, we're gonna destroy P.U.R.E. an' everythin' they're workin' on – _an'_, if I get my chance, destroy the brains of this goddamned operation."

"But we're not meant to kill anyone, mon ami. Y' forget dat? Gambit thought it was the biggest thing we learn here." Gambit asked, slyly, his eyes turned to slits and a smirk on his face.

"Like I said, rules are gonna get broken." Wolverine smirked back. "They're gonna pay for what they've done to the X-Men – an' every other mutant they've killed."

"How'd Cyclops an' Storm agree to this?"

"This ain' anythin' to do with them. This is _my_ vendetta, this is how _I'm_ solving things."

"Y' stoop to their level?" Gambit laughed, climbing off his bike.

"Now ya just sound like Xavier."

"Y' gotta dark side, mon ami. A _very_ dark side." Gambit smile, approvingly, as Wolverine and he walked back up to the Institute.

"Haven't you? Don't you wanna punish 'em for what they've done to Rogue?"

Gambit stayed quiet. Of course he wanted to punish them for everything they'd done, murdering masses of mutants across the globe, solely for their being born with the X-gene. Of course, back in his pre-X-Men days, he had ended lives and spilled others blood, but that was what life had been like for him … he wasn't sure if he was prepared to take a life again, but Wolverine had a point. It would be retribution for them. Though, deep down inside him, Gambit sort of thanked P.U.R.E. for removing Rogue's powers. He wanted the old Rogue back, but at the same time …

"This _plan of action_ stays between y'self an' me?" Gambit questioned, pressing a hand on one of the handles of the Institute's front door.

"We gotta do what we gotta do." Wolverine replied, smiling, pushing passed Gambit and into the foyer.

Gambit watched Wolverine, covered in oil and grease from working on his bike, disappear up the stairs and along the landing to the corridor leading to his room. Wolverine always worked on his bike when he wasn't training or working out, as a stress relief. Gambit wondered where this innate and poisonous hatred toward P.U.R.E. had come from – sure, every mutant did despise and fear P.U.R.E. for obvious reasons, but to be willing to take a human beings life – something no X-Men had ever done before (willingly) … Wolverine must've had some kind of personal reasons for being ready to give up everything he believed in for the sake of revenge. Gambit however … he blamed P.U.R.E. for the changes that had happened in Rogue. He despised them for leaving her for dead, not to mention leaving his other friends for dead. Though he was in two minds of taking their lives, Gambit knew that he wouldn't be in the X-Men for much longer after they'd rescued Xavier. Somehow, he didn't think Wolverine would be, either, if he so willingly wanted to murder people, no matter how much they did deserve the punishment Wolverine wanted to inflict on them.

Gambit made his way to his room. As he pulled off his clothes and prepared to climb into his bed, he stared into the night sky from his bedroom window.

He loved Rogue more than anything else in the world. Since she had left him … he couldn't stay at the Institute. After Charles Xavier was rescued and returned, safely, to the Institute, Gambit was going to pack up his belongings and leave.

Gambit opened a drawer and looked into it. There, lying, pitifully, on his clean, folded clothes, was Rogue's childhood teddy bear with a note pinned to it, bearing Gambit's scrawl.

_Don't be so willing to throw away love. Keep it close and treasure it, even when it's gone._

Gambit smiled at the note, shutting the drawer.

He was going to treasure every moment spent with Rogue, even after he'd left the Institute.


	13. Chapter 13

"Argh! Wolverine's training sessions have been, like, a million times worse than normal!" Shadowcat moaned, limping out of the danger room.

"Every bone in my body aches! He should go easy on us – not all of us have our powers, you know?" Jubilee agreed, holding her burning ribs.

"Something's gonna happen – I can feel it!" Spyke replied, skateboarding around them. "Why else would he push us so hard?"

"Because he's angry?" Havok suggested, making his friend giggle. "Come on, he's Logan. That's what he does – he gets pissed off and watches people suffer in training sessions."

"Listen to porcupine, bub, he's got the right idea. Seven o'clock, after dinner, be at the danger room – _all_ of you." Wolverine growled behind Havok, making him jump out of his skin.

"Uh – Mister Logan – I –"

"Not another training session!" Nightcrawler gasped.

"You guy's need as many trainin' sessions as you can get, but we don't have enough time in the world." Wolverine spat. "Mission objectives. That's what's happening tonight."

Wolverine pushed through the teenage mutants, Sunfire falling pale as Wolverine shoved passed him – his fear of Wolverine was almost hilariously distinct.

"We _gotta_ be going after Xavier!" Iceman gushed, excitedly. "There's nothing else it could be!"

"I dunno … with most of us powerless … like … do you think it's a good idea for us to go up against P.U.R.E. again? I mean, we've already been beaten by them, like, three times." Shadowcat sighed, quietly and sadly.

"We _have_ to go up against them again! Who knows what's happened to Xavier? We need him here!" Spyke pointed out.

"Yeah, I dunno if anyone's noticed but … this place just … isn't right without him here, you know? It's so … empty." Jubilee sighed, linking arms with Shadowcat as Shadowcat leant her head on Jubilee's shoulder.

"It not as fun as before." Sunfire agreed, timidly and sorrowfully.

"Then next training session we gotta be better! Without our powers we've somehow gotta be able to break into P.U.R.E. and beat them! We're weaker than we were before so we gotta improve! How else are we gonna get Xavier back?" Havok said, passionately, his face furrowed with emotion.

"Not to mention, get ze fun back." Nightcrawler added.

Ahead of them, Wolverine smirked, pleased. He had heard their conversation and was glad they were ready to push themselves to the limit. In his mind, however, he worried in case their determination wasn't going to be enough. They would have to call for outside help. Though he had to conceal his plan, Wolverine was positive that 'breaking the rules' would help their cause, but he was unsure what the turnout would be. With half the team powerless, what were their chances? And by murdering members of P.U.R.E. he was reasserting their beliefs that mutants were dangerous, blood thirsty beasts after nothing but power. Luckily, Wolverine was willing to overlook this – his rage was too strong and his loathing towards them was stronger than his hatred towards even Gambit and Sabertooth. The consequences were worth it, in his mind.

*

"Are you ready, Dr.?" A man asked, his identity concealed by shadows in the dark laboratory operating room.

Dr. Adler stepped out of the shadows, prepared for operation. Charles Xavier was strapped in a chair, his every movement blocked by large metal clasps, pinning his body in place – much like a body version of the machine Rogue had to lay in when she had her powers removed.

Awesome amounts of machinery filled the room, the buzz of the technology was as loud as the din on a battlefield. None seemed to care, however, their eyes filled with hunger and enthusiasm for the task ahead of them.

"Dr. Adler," Xavier panted, exhausted, every part of his being aching from the testing they'd done on him. "You don't have to do this … please …"

"Shut up!" One of the men in the room yelled, raising his arm to strike Xavier.

"Stop!" Dr. Adler commanded. "We must operate on him now – without any more harm done. How else am I going to get this right? And if this fails, how am I going to succeed at another experiment on him?"

"The chip doesn't work on this mutant! None of the power-suppressers work! We may as well kill him!"

"Power … suppressers?" Xavier gasped.

"No mutant can live without their powers. They're merely suppressed by this chip before they die of other causes – thanks to you wiping my memory of my last creation, I can't create another machine, but no matter. Mutant's dying of starvation or whatnot is a lot more amusing than dying in their sleep." Dr. Adler explained, darkly.

"If they only suppress powers, can the powers come back?" Xavier asked, glaring straight into the eyes of Dr. Adler.

"Of course they can, but they'd be dead before the X-gene finally disarms and destroys the chip." Dr. Adler laughed.

"What have you done?" Xavier gasped, angrily. "I thought you repented after what happened to Rogue!"

"That situation – plus Mister Sinister – proved only one thing: that all mutants must be destroyed." Adler grinned, manically, putting a mask to Xavier's face, forcing him to breath in the knockout gas. "Now, time for another experiment. Night, night, Charles."

*

"Have you sent us the information we wanted, Adler?" A deep voice asked down the phone.

"It's sending now." Adler replied.

It had been hours since he finished operating on Xavier. He was now in his private wing of P.U.R.E., sat at his computer table emailing incredible amounts of documents to the mysterious voice on the phone.

"If we don't get the information, you don't get the money. Please remember the greater sum we are paying you than the amount P.U.R.E. are." The voice said.

"Oh, don't worry, you'll get your information." Adler said. "When do I finally leave this dump? The X-Men have already regrouped – it won't be long until their powers return and come here to rescue Xavier. You promised that I wouldn't be here on their return."

"Don't worry, Adler." The voice bellowed a raucous laugh. "The Hellfire Club always stand by their word."


End file.
